The Falcon & the Frog II: Wind on the Mountain
by TricksterWolf
Summary: In the F&F-verse, Tommy and Adam found a love that would last a lifetime. So did their "little brother." Proving that Red and Blue go togehter just as well as Black and White, this is his story.
1. A Stormy Mountain

**The Falcon & the Frog: Wind on the Mountain**

Summary: Set in F&FII-verse, an AU where, after a kick in the butt from Kim, Tommy and Adam enter into a relationship that lasts a lifetime. However, this story is about their "Little Brother."

Disclaimer: I don't own any of it. Just playing in somebody else's sandbox.

**Chapter 1: A Stormy Mountain**

Justin Stewart drove through Blue Bay Harbor enjoying the sunny, warm California weather. After the last few years living in Massachusetts for school, he was happy to be back on the West Coast. Justin's father had moved back to his home town just over a year ago after getting sick of the corporate rat race and being offered the chance by his original sensei to take over his dojo. Justin shook his head with a rueful smirk at the thought . . . of course his dad would move here just a month before Lothar attacked. The family's move to Angel Grove when Justin was still just a child had gone much the same way.

Thankfully the Power had provided and the Ninja Rangers had defeated Lothar a little over two months back. Justin could still sense the fading ambiance of the Space Ninja's dark powers lingering about the town . . . but that was just a side effect of having been a Power Ranger himself since age 13, and having only gone less than six months in all that time without powers.

Justin knew that having had powers since the early days of puberty had altered him. His new job working for Billy would have him acting as both researcher and subject, determining just what those changes were, and maybe gleaning something that would benefit humanity either directly, or in the form of better Rangers. However, that would not start until a six month sabbatical ordered by his new employer. For now, Justin was going to enjoy the first vacation he had since age 14.

Oceanview, Blue Bay Harbor's main street flowed down out of the residential neighborhoods in the hills towards the beach and then made a nearly ninety degree turn to follow the bay line north. As Justin pulled up to the intersection his impulse was to turn south, the road that way being called Bayside Ave. But he felt a tug to the north . . . and given that he had just been thinking about his Ranger powers and their associated instincts, he followed the tug. Land bound, Oceanview was dominated by boutiques, bistros and fine dining restaurants, and offices. Once it began following the line of the beach, the road became a haven of diners, clubs, tourist traps, and the other businesses one would associate with a beach front.

The tug became strongest at a storefront near the end of the strip, before the road began climbing into the bluffs that framed the harbor. As he pulled into a parking space and the jeep's engine shut down and he looked at the sign, Justin smiled. Storm Chargers appeared to be a shop catering to the extreme sports set, if the groups of people in surfing gear, motocross clothes, or carrying skateboards were any indication. Justin patted the dashboard of the jeep before he jumped out and headed for the entrance.

The scene inside the store was contrived chaos. Monitors covered one wall, showing extreme sports events. Trophies won and events held under store sponsorship took up another wall, and merchandise was everywhere. However, if one took a minute to take the store collectively, the eye easily found specific areas of the store relating to each sport to which it catered and a clear line to the counter. The owner knew their business and clientele that was certain.

However, it wasn't any real interest in sports which brought Justin into the store. Moving out of the way of the entrance, Justin centered himself and then easily sensed what it was that drew him here. There was a blond girl over by the surfboards wearing blue and a brunette visible in the mechanic's area at the back wearing yellow.

Justin let out the breath he had been holding, relaxing as he realized he had managed to locate at least two of the local Rangers. He smirked . . . Tommy and William were going to be pissed; his big brother and the leader of Lightspeed had been, both separately and together, trying to contact the Ninja Rangers the entire time they were active without success to offer assistance when all it took for Justin to find two of them was to wander around the city. Shrugging mentally to himself, Justin considered the fact that this team had done just fine on their own, and that Tommy and William were just control freaks.

Returning to the matter at hand, Justin continued to scan the store, looking for the third signature he sensed. The general presence reminded him of Tommy, TJ, and Andros so he started looking for a guy in red. It took a minute, but then he spotted a dark haired guy from behind, red and white tank and red shorts, standing with a crowd at the skateboard display in the same area he sensed a Power signature. Justin had just begun formulating a plan on how to introduce himself to one of the Rangers when the guy in red turned around . . . and Justin's brain and heart suddenly stopped working as all the blood required for their operation rushed someplace else.

Ninja Red was HOT. He was muscled and slightly stocky of build . . . a prime weakness of Justin's if the hormone-fueled fantasies featuring Jason he had in his early teens were anything to go by. He had a definite Pacific Islander cast to his skin tone, with dark eyes to match his hair. Justin checked to make sure he wasn't drooling.

"Hi, welcome to Storm Chargers," a voice snapped him out of his ogling. "Can I help you find anything?"

Justin looked to the source of the voice and found the blonde he was certain was Ninja Blue, "Um, no . . . uh, not really." Justin blushed and scratched the back of his head. "Sorry, my mind was somewhere else." The girl glanced along Justin's former line of site and smirked, but didn't say anything. Justin quickly added, "I actually just moved to Blue Bay and was driving around and the store seemed interesting."

The girl smiled, "Well, I'm Tori. Welcome to Blue Bay Harbor." She offered her hand.

"Justin," he responded, taking the hand. Tori covered well, but Justin could see her respond to the split second jolt when their hands touched. She was still all smiles, but he could tell she was now studying him, trying to figure out what it was she sensed in that moment.

"Now Storm Chargers," she said, continuing the conversation, "has pretty much everything you could want for the extreme sports set."

"Yeah, I noticed. Although, I'm more about cars than bikes and boards."

Tori considered that for a moment, and then commented, "Well, we've got some vanity stuff over with the moto parts . . . plate frames, shift knobs, peddles, that kind of thing, but that's about it for cars."

Justin smiled, thinking about what his "jeep" would think of a vanity license plate frame . . . Storm Blaster complained enough as it was about his disguise as an ordinary vehicle and the license plate that went along with it. He also smiled with the rather guilty pleasure of keeping another Ranger in the dark about his identity when he knew hers. He admitted to himself it was a little mean, but out loud he said, "Well, none of that is really my style either. Like I said, I was mostly curious about the town, and this place seemed to have a lot of folks my age hanging around."

Tori covered it fast again, but she saw the lie. On a day like today there were a lot more places along the beach front with much higher densities of people their age. Even with all his years in martial arts and as a Ranger, Justin just barely noticed the subtle shift in her weight distribution and posture. Tori had definitely decided that she didn't like how the little details of this exchange were adding up.

First looking at his watch and then turning back to Tori, Justin said, "But unfortunately, I have to get going. Lots of unpacking still to do. Nice to meet you Tori. Maybe I'll see you around." She nodded and Justin exited the store, climbed into his jeep, and drove back the way he came . . . catching sight of Tori exiting the store and watching him go in his review mirror.

* * *

Tori waited until she could see Justin pulling out of the parking space before she moved. Thankfully, she still didn't actually work at Storm Chargers, she had just gotten into the habit of jumping in when the store was busy. It kept Kelly from having to hire extra staff that would spend most of their time standing around. In return, Kelly slipped Tori some cash under the table every so often. The arrangement allowed Tori to feel like she wasn't taking up space in the store just hanging out . . . it also allowed her the ability to take off whenever she felt like it.

Tori exited the store and watched Justin go. She then turned and ran the opposite direction, around to the alley alongside the store, from there she streaked to the roof. Now with Justin still in her sight, she reached into her tank top and pulled out the pendent with the Academy symbol on it. Pressing it between her fingers she said, "Tori to Ninja Ops. Cam, please be there."

"Of course I'm here Tori," came Cam's reply. "I have another month of repair work to do."

"But you already have the mainframe and the satellite feeds back up, right?"

"Of course . . . Tori, what's wrong?"

"This guy came into Storm Chargers. He seemed fixated on Shane, lied a lot, and I got this weird vibe from him."

"Dark ninja?"

"I'm not sure . . . but definitely more than ordinary. Maybe I'm just being paranoid . . ."

Cam cut her off, "Or maybe somebody's really out to get you. I've got the feed up, what am I looking for?"

"Blue, almost crayon blue open top jeep heading South on Oceanview, about three blocks from the Storm Chargers."

The line went quiet, and then Cam said, "I'm not getting anything on the satellite feed."

"What?"

"I'm not seeing anything that looks like that on the satellite feed. However . . . okay, traffic is acting like there's another car right where you described."

"How's that possible."

"The right kind of cloaking tech." Cam paused and then added, knowing what his friend was about to do, "Tori, be careful."

"I will," Tori responded as she changed into her ninja uniform, "And I'll call if I need help."

"Good, I'll be monitoring."

"Never doubted it, Cam." Tori closed the connection and began ninja streaking from roof-top to roof-top in pursuit of Justin.

At first, Tori had thought she was just being paranoid, based on the way she saw Justin looking at Shane. She could admit to herself that she was being over-protective, but Shane was finally in a good place with himself and she didn't want to see him lose that. Shane had been in denial about his sexuality for ages, but it had never been a problem until Hunter showed up and Shane crushed big time. It was his inability to deal with the crush that resulted in most of the problems between the Red and Crimson Rangers. Surprisingly, it wasn't until Shane screwed up his courage and made a move that things got better, in spite of the fact that it lead to Hunter revealing that he only had eyes for Cam, and that the feeling was mutual. However, all of that impending drama instead gave Shane people he could talk to who understood what he was going through.

Shane didn't really try dating until after Lothar was defeated. Since then, he'd gone out with a few guys, but most had turned out to only be interested in him physically and wanted to move way faster than Shane was ready for. So, when Tori had seen Justin damn near drooling at the sight of Shane, she had moved to intercept. However, now she was faced with the possibility that Justin wasn't just some guy in lust with Shane, but an actual threat . . . a threat they no longer had Ranger powers to deal with.

As she followed him, Justin reached the intersection of Oceanview and Bayside. However, instead of turning east and staying on Oceanview, the mystery man continued south. Much like the northbound road, Bayside quickly headed up into the bluffs that framed Blue Bay Harbor. The forest restarted once one reached the top of the bluffs . . . great place for a trap, but Tori was committed to the pursuit. She was still close to the water, unless he turned inland, and would be able to use her ninja powers to their fullest. Despite the fact that it confirmed her suspicion that Justin knew he was being followed, Tori thanked the Elements when he suddenly turned off road heading for the bluff's edge.

Tori ended her streak near the road, just inside the tree line. She was familiar with this area and knew that Justin could only drive about five hundred yards before reaching the edge of the cliff. Prior to becoming a Ranger Tori, much like Shane and Dustin, hadn't exactly been the best ninja student, but even then she had excelled at silent movement.

She stalked through the woods, stopping again just inside the cliff side edge of the tree line, about twenty yards from the edge. Tori could see Justin's jeep sitting in the middle of the small clearing, but there was no sign of her quarry. He could have run off into the woods, but Tori had to wonder why he would have left his jeep behind. She was pondering this question when her ninja senses warned her of an attack. Tori dived into the clearing an instant before a armored figure punched the ground where she had been standing, divoting the ground and sending out a shock wave of force.

Tori didn't even have time to think as the figure was on her, a blue blur of punches and kicks. The ninja used all of her skill and barely managed to stay ahead of the strikes, each one barely missing. Her own blows connected, but didn't seem to have any effect. Another flurry of blows caused Tori to go into a flip up and over the jeep to avoid them.

Ducking down behind the vehicle gave Tori a moment. Whoever this guy really was, he was insanely fast. Tori was amazed that she had managed to avoid his strikes . . . until a heartbeat later when it hit her that while fast, she wasn't anywhere near that fast. He was aiming his blows not to connect! Whether to taunt or test her, Tori wasn't sure . . . all she knew is that now she was angry, and an angry Water Master was the last thing anybody with half a brain wanted to mess with.

Tori gathered her power, easier here just above the roaring surf, and leapt up onto the hood of the jeep, which seemed to shake a bit under her, but she ignored it. Her opponent stopped and looked at her just long enough for Tori to finish her attack, sending a torrent of water crashing into her would-be assailant, the force of the attack blasting him back into a tree, which cracked under the impact.

Tori hopped down off the jeep, another burst waiting at her command, but he hadn't moved yet. Now that he wasn't moving, Tori could see how familiar the design of his armor was . . . a bright blue suit and helmet with an opaque visor. However, before she could think on that too much, Tori noticed that his shoulders were shaking, up and down. Seconds later, she could hear his laughter as it grew. However, this wasn't standard bad guy "you think you hurt me but you didn't laughter," it was genuine amused laughter. Private joke kind of laughter. Tori couldn't help herself, "What the hell are you laughing about," she demanded.

Putting his hands up in the sign of surrender, her opponent stood and then, between peals of laughter, managed to say, "Power down." There was a flash of blue light and a rush of energy. Energy that, as it washed over her Tori recognized. Now, finally, she realized what it was she sensed we she had shaken hands with Justin.

As the light cleared and Justin's laughing face became completely visible, Tori exclaimed, "Wait, you're a Power Ranger!"


	2. Blue Monday

**The Falcon & the Frog: Wind on the Mountain**

Summary: Set in F&FII-verse, an AU where, after a kick in the butt from Kim, Tommy and Adam enter into a relationship that lasts a lifetime. However, this story is about their "Little Brother."

Disclaimer: I don't own any of it. Just playing in somebody else's sandbox.

**Chapter 2: Blue Monday**

For the third time, Tori punched Justin in the shoulder as they sat in the jeep, exclaiming, "That was really mean!"

"Ow!" Justin jumped slightly and started rubbing his shoulder. "Okay, okay, I'm sorry! Freaking you out like that wasn't fair, I admit that." He paused for a moment and then added, "It was funny though."

Tori's eyes narrowed and she brought up her fist up again, but relented when Justin made a sign of surrender. She was quiet for a moment, and then said, "Wow. I mean, wow, you're really a Power Ranger."

Justin leaned over the steering wheel and observed, "You thought you were the only ones."

"Kinda," Tori admitted her expression sheepish. "I mean, before we got our powers, Dustin believed Rangers were real. And I eventually came to learn that Cam developed our technology by studying everything he could find on other Ranger teams." She seemed to consider for a moment, "I guess I just never thought that I would actually meet other Rangers."

"How much does Dustin hold believing before you did over your head?"

Tori smiled, "Not very. He's really not that kind of guy. When he is being smug it's about figuring out how to morph before Shane and I could."

"Your Red Ranger couldn't figure out to morph?" Justin looked at her incredulously.

"Hey, we showed up late for ninja training, found the school trashed, that aliens were real, that Cam had a secret bunker under the school, and then were given about a thirty second lecture on how to be a Power Ranger."

"So, wait, you went into your first Ranger battle having never morphed before?"

"Yeah," Tori responded, her tone conveying she thought that was natural.

Justin seemed to consider a moment, and then said, "I guess, given what he had to work with and the situation, that would be the only way to play it." When Tori gave him a questioning look, Justin continued, "Well, the original morphers automatically downloaded the knowledge of at least how to morph once they were given to the first Rangers, with everything else coming after they morphed for the first time. Later designs required a forced first morph to do that. Heck, the Light Speed Rangers got at least a full briefing first."

"That would have been nice," Tori commented, leaning on the dash. She seemed lost in thought for a moment and then asked, "So, wait, how do you know all this about other Rangers?"

"I've met most of them. Although, having met you, I've now got the chance to meet everybody. Of course, I'm closer to the originals and Space Rangers, having served with many of them. We don't get to see the Galaxy team very often. Mirinoi is so far away, and the population is so small, it's hard for them to sneak off for the reunions."

"Reunions?"

"Yeah, every year we have a get together for all of the Rangers. The date varies, depending on whether or not there's been an active team over the last year and when they take out their baddie. This year's is in a few months, near the end of summer, if you guys want to go," Justin offered with a smile.

"Really," Tori asked, and then she smiled, "Oh yeah, I think it's guaranteed Dustin's head will explode." They started laughing. However, the laughter was interrupted as her pendent started beeping.

"Um . . . your breasts are beeping," Justin observed.

Tori blushed and reached inside her tank top, pulling out the Academy pendent. Pressing it between her fingers she said, "Go for Tori."

"Are you okay?" Cam's voice was full of concern.

Tori smacked herself in the head, "Oh Cam, I'm so sorry! I'm fine. And you won't believe what I found out." Suddenly Tori's eyes widened, "And I'm sitting in the car that doesn't show up on the satellite feed. Oops."

"You're sitting in the car?"

"Yeah," Tori was now blushing the shade of Red Ranger armor. "Look Cam, it's really better if I show you rather than try to explain this over the comm. Will you call everybody and meet me by the lake?"

There was a pause, and Tori realized that Cam was thinking about what happened the last time she made that request. She held her breath and hoped that he would also think past that to how all that ultimately turned out. Finally Cam responded, "Thirty minutes?"

Tori let out the breath she was holding, "See you in thirty."

* * *

Tori guided Justin back down Oceanview, down Bayside, and up into the bluffs on the opposite side of the bay. The woods were much denser on this side and the quality of the roads quickly moved from paved to gravel. "Doing this in a jeep is much nicer than in my old van," Tori commented.

Justin just smiled as Tori directed him deeper into the woods. They eventually pulled into a small clearing off of anything even resembling a road. "Okay, we walk from here," Tori explained. They got out of the jeep, Tori failing to notice that the engine just shut off without him turning a key.

She lead him through a copse of trees and, as soon they passed through, Justin stopped and said, "We're being watched."

Tori smirked, "I'm impressed you sensed that. It's the Academy guard."

"Been doing the super hero thing for a long time," Justin explained. Tori nodded, and then grabbed the strap of her tank top and pulled away, shifting into a full-body, ornate leather outfit. "Nice trick."

"Had to make sure I did that," Tori explained, "a few more feet without switching to my uniform would have been a sign that I was in trouble."

"Good system."

They approached the edge of a small, waterfall fed lake at the base of a cliff. Tori stopped at the waterline and looked around.

"Weren't your friends supposed to meet us here?"

Tori let out a frustrated sound, "The last time I needed to bring someone here, it didn't go so well . . . at first. And, Cam is prone to paranoia."

"Maybe some proof is needed," Justin offered. "How discrete are the guards?"

"Very. It is a secret ninja academy after all."

"Good." Justin reached into his pocket and pulled out an oblong, silver object. He pressed a stud at the end and a short, serrated shaft of metal that glowed slightly blue popped out, it resembled a key. He then shifted his weight, bringing his left arm across his chest. With a quick flick of his wrist his watch transformed into a block object with five flashing lights on the face. He yelled, "Shift into Turbo!" and went into a series of lighting fast hand moves, reminiscent of steering a car, and the he shoved the key into the top what Tori realized must be his morpher. Giving the key a twist he then shouted, "Mountain Blaster Turbo Power!" There was a burst of blazing blue light and when it cleared, Justin was again standing in his Ranger armor.

A yellow-tinged blur appeared out of the tree line, stopping to reveal the mechanic from Storm Chargers dressed in a yellow-lined version of Toir's uniform. Based on Tori's description and Justin's earlier theory, this had to be Dustin. The wide-eyed way in which he exclaimed, "Oh my god! You're the Blue Turbo Ranger! The real Blue Turbo Ranger!" also helped the identification.

Tori shook her head and grinned bemusedly as green red, dark red streaks appeared. She glanced at Justin and he removed his helmet, she then began introductions. "Well, Mr. Hyper here is our Yellow Ranger and head Earth Master, Dustin."

Justin shook hands with Dustin and was thankful for his Ranger strength as the other man tried to shake his arm from the socket. "_He's like a male version of Kelsey_," Justin thought. Out loud he said, "Nice to meet the first male Yellow." Dustin's grin got even wider, in clear defiance of the rules of biology.

As Justin extracted his hand, Tori moved on in the introductions by indicating a bespectacled Asian in a green-trimmed Academy uniform, "This is Cam, our Green Ranger, tech, and one of the few Samurai Masters in this part of the world."

This handshake was much more reserved. "I studied everything I could find on your team's tech in building ours," Cam commented. "I assume the jeep I can't pick up on my satellite feeds is Storm Blaster?"

Justin smiled and made a mental note to be certain to introduce Cam to Billy, "Yep."

"I'd love to have a look at it sometime."

"Well, that's up to Blaster."

Cam looked confused, so Justin explained, "Storm Blaster and Lightning Cruiser are sentient mechanical life forms. So, if you want to get under Blaster's hood, you'll have to ask him nicely." The two geniuses smiled with understanding.

Standing next to Cam was a tall blond in a differently styled ninja uniform trimmed in a dark red. Before Tori could continue the introductions, Justin jumped in and offered his hand, "Hunter, right?"

Hunter returned the handshake a bit warily, "Yeah. How'd you know?"

"Well, the different uniform for starters. Tori also gave me a break down on your colors and the whole ninja elemental alignment thing, so the crimson was a giveaway. Even without all of that, you're the only one who matches her blond and broody description."

"Justin!" Tori exclaimed with indignant shock as Hunter glared at her.

Cam smirked, Dustin laughed, and the remaining individual snorted. Moving to him, Justin commented, "Oh, he'll fit in fine with Ryan and Merrick. They can sit together and be distant and aloof." Reaching the last member of the group, Justin again extended his hand and said, "And you must be Shane."


	3. The Man in Red

**The Falcon & the Frog: Wind on the Mountain**

Summary: Set in F&FII-verse, an AU where, after a kick in the butt from Kim, Tommy and Adam enter into a relationship that lasts a lifetime. However, this story is about their "Little Brother."

Disclaimer: I don't own any of it. Just playing in somebody else's sandbox.

**Chapter 3: The Man in Red**

"And you must be Shane," Justin extended his hand with a smile. Shane hadn't managed to get a very good look at Justin before he morphed, but when the Turbo Ranger took off his helmet, Shane had suddenly found it hard to breathe, and now the smile directed his way was making matters worse. Finally, after what felt to him like an eternity, but was in reality less than a second, Shane moved and took the hand, shaking himself internally out of his daze. Yes, Justin was attractive . . . incredibly so, but Shane considered he was the one being attracted, so he didn't stand a chance.

Since accepting his sexuality, Shane had been attracted to exactly three men. The first was Hunter, who only had eyes for Cam. The second had been Michael, who at first seemed to be interested in Shane in return, but that had only been as arm-candy to make his ex jealous. It worked; one date with Shane and those two were back together. The most recent had been Carlos; who had turned out to be straight, just one who enjoyed the attention from wherever he could get it. Unfortunately for Carlos, he wasn't too bright, as evidenced by the pass he made at Tori immediately after not-so-gently letting Shane down. Tori's anger stopped even Sensei's normal lecture on inappropriate use of ninja skills cold.

Shane pushed all of this down, not believing for second that a hot, obviously intelligent guy who just happened to be one of the earliest Power Rangers would even remotely be interested in him as anything more than a fellow Ranger, and a former one at that. Shane smiled and out loud asked, "So what brings you to Blue Bay Harbor?"

Trying to damp down his own internal demons, Shane didn't seem to notice that Justin let the handshake linger, starting his answer before letting go, "My dad's originally from Blue Bay. He moved back here just before Lothar showed up."

"Ooh, bad timing dude," Dustin observed.

"Par for the course," Justin commented, glancing at the Earth ninja while still mostly facing Shane. "He moved us to Angel Grove just weeks before Rita was freed. And then the martial arts equipment company he was working for at the time moved him to their main offices in Mariner Bay the same week the demons launched their first attack."

Shane, Tori, and Dustin grimaced. Cam made a pained face and rubbed the bridge of his nose under his glasses. Hunter openly face-palmed. Justin chuckled, "Yeah, he's three for three. We've all decided that if my Dad ever moves again we're just going to set up a Ranger team wherever he's moving to in advance."

The Rangers shared a laugh and Justin took a moment to power down. The ninjas then conducted Justin across the lake and through the portal. As they appeared at the tree line on the rise above the Academy grounds Justin commented, "Quantum tunneling, nice." Cam's eyes lit up as Justin turned to him, "Given the diffuse event horizon, I'm guessing a magic-based system?"

Cam started discussing the details with Justin, the expression on the Samurai's face as he looked at the Turbo Ranger's face caused Hunter to tense. Shane glanced between the conversation and Hunter just as Tori put her hand on the Thunder Ninja's arm and whispered, "Relax. It's probably a total bromance starting up, but Justin's interests are elsewhere."

Upon hearing this, Shane became even more convinced that he didn't have a chance with the Turbo Ranger. However, as he considered more, he started becoming angry because the only reason he could think of that Tori would know Justin's "interests" was if he made a pass at her. And Tori was with Blake, even with him being off with Factory Blue. But Tori seemed okay with him, which means he must have taken her turning him down gracefully.

"_Why am I obsessing over this?"_ Shane questioned himself. _"Oh great. I'm crushing. I just met this guy, he's straight, and interested in my best friend so of course I'm crushing on him. God I am so pathetic!"_

"Shane!" Tori elbowed him in the ribs.

"Ow! What?" Shane rubbed his side and glared at his friend. Tori, for her part, just smirked at him knowingly.

"I was saying, oh head-in-the-clouds Air Master, that you should give Justin a tour of the grounds."

"Oh. Sorry . . . um, yeah. Yeah, I can do that," Shane responded, while thinking just how much torture that would be.

Tori just kept giving him that insufferable, all-knowing smile of hers. Justin smiled at him as well, and said, "I would really like that."

"_Well, at least it will be pretty torture,"_ Shane thought. Out loud he smiled and said, "This way," as he gestured to the path down to the practice field.


	4. When Air is Dense as Mountain

**The Falcon & the Frog: Wind on the Mountain**

Summary: Set in F&FII-verse, an AU where, after a kick in the butt from Kim, Tommy and Adam enter into a relationship that lasts a lifetime. However, this story is about their "Little Brother."

Disclaimer: I don't own any of it. Just playing in somebody else's sandbox.

**Chapter 4: When Air is Dense as Mountain**

Shane showed Justin around the Academy grounds. The Blue Ranger had been impressed with the deference the students and even the other teachers showed Shane. He was also impressed with the demeanor of confidence and control Shane exhibited at those moments . . . it beat the sullen, almost withdrawn mood the former Red seemed to be in, although he tried to project cheerfulness.

Justin would have been turned off by Shane's behavior, except Tori had both confronted him about his obvious attraction as well as warned him of Shane's experiences with guys on the way here. He knew he would have to be gentle, move slowly. Although, asking a Turbo Ranger to move slowly was like asking the sun not to shine.

When they arrived in one of the meditation gardens, Justin tried to get Shane talking about himself, "So, evil space ninja, huh?"

"Yeah," Shane responded, warming slightly. "You know, I had really thought the whole "secret ninja academy" student thing had made me unshockable, but walking through the portal and seeing a hole in the ground where the school had been, and then being told about Lothar followed by "here's your morphers" definitely proved me wrong."

Justin chuckled, "I know the feeling. My "big brother," he made the air quotes, indicating he was talking about the mentorship program, "Rocky was hurt practicing for a martial arts competition. I snuck into the hospital to see him, diving under the bed when I heard other people coming since I was too young to be in the room by myself. Imagine my surprise when not only does it turn out to be his four best friends, but they then get called by their mentor and teleport out."

"Wow. So, how about you?"

Justin smirked, "Evil space pirate." Shane stopped dead and looked at him incredulously. "Seriously. Divatox, Queen of the Galactic Pirate Clans."

"Too bad Lothar's imprisoned in the Abyss of Evil," Shane commented, "we could lock them in a room together and answer a long standing question."

Justin considered it for a moment, and then shuddered, "Well, thank the Power that Divatox got converted in the Zordon Wave, because the way she was with men in her evil days . . ." he shuddered again, "there's not enough alcohol in the world to eradicate that image."

Shane seemed to consider the concept and shuddered himself, and then both young men exchanged a glance and laughed. Justin took this as a good sign and moved closer. Shane immediately seemed to close himself off again, moving away slightly and clearing his throat, "So, over this way are the dummies we use for outdoor sword training."

* * *

Justin was starting to grow extremely frustrated. Every time he seemed to be breaking the ice with Shane, his defenses would go back up. Under any other circumstance, Justin would not have tried this hard. However, with Shane there was something different. Yes, he was physically attracted to Shane, but there was more, and not just his status as an inactive Ranger. No, Justin could feel the Power in this, pushing him towards Shane, trying to forge a bond between them.

Contrary to what even many Rangers believed, the Power was definitely Aware. Justin often felt sorry for many Rangers, having not had Zordon's tutelage, they only understood the Power in terms the morphing grid, as something mechanical, nothing more than a source of energy. However, Zordon had taught his Rangers that the Power was the essence of life, of sentience, of everything that was good and true in the Universe. He had also taught them that the Power had a personality and that an aspect of that personality was that it seemed to like to meddle in the lives of Rangers, so that when a Ranger sensed the Power moving in their life, they best pay attention.

As Justin was musing about his frustrations, Shane's tour led them to an enclosed sparring arena. The walls were tall and reinforced. A ledge ran around the outside of the walls. Inside was a single, open space with a sandy floor. The whole thing was open to the sky. "Interesting sparring space," Justin commented.

"Thanks. We use this arena to demonstrate elemental abilities," Shane explained. "We can have one or more instructors in here, and the students can stand on the outside ledge and watch."

Justin considered the space for a moment, scuffing his shoe in the sand, and then said, "Spar with me."

"What?" Shane seemed shocked, "Justin, you're not a ninja, it wouldn't be . . ."

"Fair?" Justin asked and Shane nodded. "If I were anyone else, you'd be right. But I'm a Ranger and I haven't had a good spar with someone I haven't had to hold back with in ages."

Shane paused, considering, trying to figure out how he was going to handle the situation. He was not helped by the fact that Justin was already stripping out of his blue and white bowler shirt, revealing the blue tank top underneath.

Suddenly, Shane no longer had the option to try to figure out how to react, as Justin closed the distance and spun a kick into his chest. Shane reacted reflexively, blocking the kick, grabbing Justin's ankle, and attempting to spin the Blue Ranger to the ground. However, Justin spun with it; this had the effect of forcing Shane to jump back lest he get kicked in the chin. Justin landed, coming back in a defensive pose, grinning at Shane.

"Come on, Mr. big bad ninja-man, let's go," Justin challenged.

Shane looked shocked for a moment, but then a big grin spread across his face and he responded, "Oh, it's on gear head," and launched into a series of rapid fire punches and kicks. Justin blocked each one expertly, and returned the favor, putting Shane back on the defensive.

Justin struck, Shane blocked, and they grappled for a moment before breaking again. "You look surprised," Justin commented.

Shane looked chagrined for a moment, and then said, "I'm not used to a non-ninja being that good."

"I grew up in a dojo. So, you gonna stop holding back now?"

Shane smirked, "Oh yeah."

He then launched into an even more furious series of strikes, kicks, and grabs, with Justin countering him. They traded offense and defense back and forth until Justin finally found an opening and was able to knock Shane away. The Air Ninja back flipped rather than falling to the ground. He regained his feet and then leapt into running on air, driving straight at Justin. The Blue Ranger reacted by grinning and then turned and bolted for the far wall, becoming a blue blur. He ran up the wall, pushed off and flew at Shane, and grabbed the other young man around the midsection, dragging them both to the sandy arena floor.

They hit the ground, Shane landing flat on his back, knocking the wind out of him. Justin took the chance to pin the ninja. Once Shane seemed to recover himself Justin looked into his eyes and asked, "so, have dinner with me?"


	5. Clouds Part

**The Falcon & the Frog: Wind on the Mountain**

Summary: Set in F&FII-verse, an AU where, after a kick in the butt from Kim, Tommy and Adam enter into a relationship that lasts a lifetime. However, this story is about their "Little Brother."

Disclaimer: I don't own any of it. Just playing in somebody else's sandbox.

**Chapter 5: Clouds Part**

Tori cautiously let herself into the apartment with her spare key. She wasn't sure what to expect after the panicked-sounding call from Shane comprised of five words, "Get your butt over here," however it definitely wasn't the sight that greeted her . . . Shane, clad in nothing but a pair of red boxer shorts standing in the bedroom area of his loft apartment with nearly every piece of clothing he owned scattered about him as if a tornado had torn through his wardrobe. Given Shane's status as an Air Master, a tornado was not outside the realm of possibility.

"Shane, what happened?" Tori asked in shock.

"He asked me out Tor . . . I can't figure out what to wear . . . my hair is a mess . . . I . . .," Shane babbled in response, smaller pieces of clothing began to rustle as another wind began to pick up.

Tori quickly crossed to Shane, took the shirt he was holding out of his hands and repressed a sigh . . . the red, short sleeve, linen shirt that he had just wrung into a wrinkled mess is exactly what she would have advised him to wear on a date with Justin . . . and said, "Shane, stop and center. You're whipping up another wind storm."

He made eye contact with her and reflexively centered himself, causing the wind to die down. A few more blinks and Shane seemed to find his focus. However, Shane coming back into himself was not necessarily a good thing in this instance. "Did you know he was going to ask me out?" he demanded.

Tori moved away from Shane and began collecting a serviceable outfit while using her powers to increase the humidity in and around the shirt in order to relax out the wrinkles. "Ask you out? Well, I figured he do it eventually," she answered somewhat distractedly while trying to find a decent pair of pants. As lead Sensei under Sensei Watanabe, Shane spent most of his time at the Academy and essentially lived in his uniform, leading to a severe lack of options in his regular wardrobe. Cam complained of the same issue with Hunter. She smiled in triumph as she found the pair of dark khakis she had forced him to buy a few months prior and continued, "If I had to guess, he decided to jump head and be blunt since you were being all Mr. Oblivious."

"How was I supposed to know he was into me?"

"I don't know, maybe it was the smiles, the flirty tone of his voice, the repeated attempts to get into your personal space." Shane still looked uncertain and so Tori softened her tone as she put the pants and the now-wrinkle-free shirt into his hands, "Look Shane, I know your experiences with dating haven't been great, but Justin's a fellow Ranger. I think that's a pretty strong indication that you can trust his intentions."

"That's true," Shane agreed, "but I'm not a Ranger anymore, what could he possibly see in me?"

Tori sighed loudly, signaling Shane that she was reaching the limits of her tolerance for his self-doubts. "You know what he said to me when I made the same comment about not being a Ranger anymore?" Shane shook his head. "Once a Ranger, always a Ranger." That got Shane to smile and she continued, "And he spent all afternoon with you and still wants to see you tonight. He must have the power to see past you mopiness." Shane made an expression of mock indignation and Tori laughed and said, "Now, get in that bathroom and make yourself pretty!"

* * *

Justin was amazed that Shane had actually agreed to dinner, but also a little paranoid. Not that the evening was going to go badly, or that he was making the wrong choice. He was concerned that Shane would actually show up . . . the ninja had seemed a little shell-shocked when he said yes to the invitation and while they agreed on a restaurant and a time to meet he wasn't quite sure the ninja had consciously processed the conversation. However, Justin decided to proceed as if everything would proceed as plan and began to rifle though his closet, glad he had at least gotten his clothes completely unpacked and his bathroom arranged.

He narrowed his choices down to two shirts . . . unsurprisingly both blue . . . when another thought popped into his head. Pulling out his phone and punched in a number from memory. The phone rang twice and then a familiar voice answered, "Oliver-Park residence."

"Heya, big bro," Justin said as way of introduction.

"Justin!" Adam Park exclaimed with happy surprise. "How's it going? How's the job with Billy?"

"Haven't started with Billy yet. He ordered me to take a six month sabbatical."

"More like Kat ordered him to order you to take a six month sabbatical," Adam chuckled.

"Oh yeah, no doubt that one had its origins with Mom," Justin agreed, using the title he had given Kat, originally as a signal that she was mothering him too much, particularly on the battle field, but that had become a loving nickname over the years.

"So what are you doing in the meantime?"

"I'm staying in Blue Bay Harbor with my Dad."

"Wait, Blue Bay, isn't that where . . . ?"

"Yep, where the last Ranger team was based." Justin then added in a sing song, "Tommy's gonna hate me."

Justin could almost hear Adam roll his eyes, "You've already found them, haven't you?" Justin chuckled and Adam continued, "You do realize that I have to live with him, right?" Now Justin laughed and Adam failed not to join him. "Okay, fine, seeing his and William's reactions will be funny. You want me to tell him, or are you going to spring it on them?"

"You can tell him . . . I think I'm going to be getting a much different pleasure out of this discovery."

"Justin, what have you done?"

"I have a date with their Red Ranger tonight."

Adam sighed audibly, "We should never have let you keep that Turbo Morpher . . . makes you move too damn fast. Just promise me you won't rush through this one like you do with every other guy."

"It's not like that Adam," Justin defended. "Okay, yeah, Shane . . . that's Ninja Red . . . is hot. Super hot. Islander version of Jason hot . . ."

Before Justin could go any further Adam interrupted, "So I gather he's hot."

"Um, yeah," Justin collected himself. "But, I can feel the Power in this one, and not just because he's a former Ranger."

"Really?"

"Yeah. The first time I saw him . . . it was exactly like you and Tommy described, a rush as if you were morphing."

There was a pause on the other end of the line, and then Adam responded, "Okay then. Good luck and try not to move too fast."

"I'll try," Justin agreed and then looked as his alarm clock. "Although, for the next few minutes I have to move at Turbo speed if I want to get ready for this date and not pull a Tommy."


	6. In the Cool of the Evening

**The Falcon & the Frog: Wind on the Mountain**

Summary: Set in F&FII-verse, an AU where, after a kick in the butt from Kim, Tommy and Adam enter into a relationship that lasts a lifetime. However, this story is about their "Little Brother."

Disclaimer: I don't own any of it. Just playing in somebody else's sandbox.

**Chapter 6: In the Cool of the Evening**

Justin desperately repressed the urge to check the time. Shane wasn't that late . . . it couldn't be more than ten minutes. He gave in and looked at his watch. Okay, it was closer to fifteen minutes. Justin sighed, maybe asking Shane out that quickly wasn't the best idea. Adam was right, he had always had a tendency to move too fast and it had caused problems in the past. Shane was already gun shy due to his prior experiences and now Justin was afraid his blasting through the other man's defenses had come back to bite him.

He was just about to give up when he heard his name called. Turning he saw Shane trotting up, smiling but looking rather embarrassed at the same time. "Hey, sorry I'm late . . . I probably should have mentioned that I don't drive," Shane explained as he closed to conversational distance.

"It's cool," Justin replied, hoping his relief wasn't obvious. "So, shall we get a table?" Shane smiled and nodded.

They checked in with the hostess and were quickly shown to a table. The restaurant had been Shane's choice, given Justin's lack of familiarity with Blue Bay Harbor. It was one of the small bistro style restaurants that dotted the shore line featuring giant garage doors instead of exterior walls, allowing the experience of indoor and outdoor dining simultaneously. As they were given menus Shane commented, "The food's pretty decent here, and not too expensive."

Justin smiled and perused the menu, "Not really an issue. Between scholarships and grants I was basically paid to go to school, and Billy gave me what he called a "signing bonus" to cover the sabbatical he ordered me to take before I start working for him." Shane still seemed a bit nervous, so Justin added, "And besides, I was raised to be a gentleman . . . I asked, so dinner's on me."

Unfortunately, this comment seemed to have the effect of raising Shane's stress rather than lowering it. Justin quickly reached across the table and lightly touched Shane's hand, "Hey, no expectations here. Just a pleasant evening on me."

Shane, for his part, had to struggle to focus on what Justin was saying, as the simple contact of Justin's hand on his had sent a shock through his body that felt like morphing. He quickly used a calming technique and latched onto part of what Justin had said, "Billy?"

Justin leaned back, breaking the contact. Shane was both relieved and disappointed, but it allowed him to focus on the other's response. "Billy originated Tori's job," he started with a raised eyebrow which Shane took to mean that Billy was the first Blue. "He now owns a company tech company called Azure Lupine."

"Ah," was all Shane could come up with. The tech field was not his forte, but he didn't want to admit that he had never heard of a company that happened to be owned by one of the original Rangers.

Justin smiled again, "Don't worry if you've never heard of it. Cam's probably familiar . . . and may have even ordered some equipment from them, but otherwise they're kind of behind the scenes, doing a lot of work with NASADA and certain government groups and almost primarily in R&D. Anything that they have come up with that's commercially available is usually released through a smaller, more focused company they either own or that has leased the rights."

"Wow. And this . . . signing bonus?"

"In six months I head down to Angle Grove and start working for Billy."

"Why wait the six months?"

"He . . . well, in all reality his wife, ordered me to take some time off after school." Responding to Shane's unvoiced question Justin continued, "She and I were involved in the same extracurricular activities," again the raised eyebrow implied a Ranger-related meaning, "and she kinda became my surrogate mom." Shane smiled and nodded and Justin asked, "So, what about you? Tori says you're the head teacher at the Academy?

Several emotions seemed to cross Shane's face at once and then he finally responded, "More or less."

"Huh?"

Shane sighed, "I am the head teacher, but a lot of the other teachers aren't happy with it, even if they don't show it. Before . . . everything happened, we were the lowest students on the totem pole. Now, we're Sensei's go to people. It possibly wouldn't be so bad if it was just what happened that everyone was dealing with, but the fact is that all the other teachers, with only one or two exceptions besides Tori, Dustin, and me are from families that have been with the school for generations. All the teachers who were first generation left after it was all over, viewing their association with the school as the reason for losing a year of their life."

"That's rough," Justin commented sympathetically.

"The Asian and European schools have come out okay, but the Western schools are hurting."

Justin seemed to consider something for a moment and then spoke, "Look, I know that secrecy is one of the hallmarks of your way of life . . . but there is help for people trying to get things back on track after something like that."

"What do you mean?"

Justin glanced around the room, an expression of frustration on his face. "Look, this will be easier to explain once we don't have to avoid certain words. So tell you what, why don't we order, discuss your skating and my schooling over dinner and then we can go somewhere where we can talk more openly."

Shane's curiosity was almost overwhelming but knew Justin was right, if this related to the Rangers or the Ninja schools then they couldn't discuss it here, so he responded, "Agreed. What are you thinking about ordering?"

* * *

Dinner went well and afterwards they left the restaurant together and climbed into Justin's jeep. It was a warm night with a gentle breeze, so the open jeep was the perfect vehicle. Once they were out in traffic, however, Justin got serious again. "Okay, while you guys were active there were several people trying to track you down. The main two being one of the original Rangers and the other the leader of Lightspeed Rescue."

"The Rangers in Mariner Bay?" Shane asked as clarification. When Justin nodded affirmatively, Shane followed up with, "Why?"

"To see if you needed help . . . especially with the aftermath of defeating Lothor. Hundreds of people all over the world with, if you dug deeply enough, unusual connections to each other going missing all at once, with their families seeming to know more than they were letting on, right around the time a new villain is starts attacking Earth did not go unnoticed by us. Even without all of that, it's become policy for veteran Rangers, either informally or more officially through Lightspeed or other Ranger-aligned organizations to extend offers of help to new Ranger teams."

Shane sighed deeply and leaned his head back against the seat, "I understand the reasons behind the policy of secrecy, but there are times where it seems to do the Academies more harm than good."

"However," Justin picked up, "it may not be too late to help folks get their lives back together."

"How?"

"Got a few hours?" Justin asked with a smirk.

"_If it means spending more time with you while getting to help my people_," Shane thought while out loud he just said, "Sure," with what he was certain was a dopey smile.

It was only now he realized that Justin had driven them up into the bluffs. Suddenly, Justin turned off-road and accelerated through the woods. Within seconds the trees broke and Shane could see the edge of the cliff. Before Shane could say anything a blue glow moved along the jeep from front to back, altering its shape into something streamlined and not quite terrestrial looking. Shane started to yell Justin's name as the Blue Ranger floored it, sending the jeep flying over the edge of the cliff . . . where it just kept flying.

"What the HELL?!"

Justin laughed, "Shane, allow me to formally introduce you to Storm Blaster." The jeeps headlights flashed with an audible hum of power. "That means hello, by the way."

"Uh, hello Storm Blaster."

"Blaster and his brother Lightning Cruiser are self-aware, Power linked machines. Last survivors of a Ranger team from eons ago that bonded to me and my Red Ranger." Justin looked over at Shane, who was holding onto the seat and the dash for dear life, "Didn't you fly a hang glider into battle?"

Shane realized what he was doing and smiled sheepishly, releasing his death grip. He took a calming breath and opened himself to his Element . . . the Power of Air rushed into him with a force that rivaled morphing and he began to laugh. Justin joined him and they shared in the joy of flight. When Shane calmed down he commented, "Thank you. I haven't gotten to experience anything like this since we lost our powers." Justin blushed but before he could say anything Shane asked, "So, where are we going?"

"Mariner Bay. Lightspeed operations specifically. Speaking of which . . ." Justin hit a button on the dash and a few seconds later a voice issued from a hidden speaker.

"Confirmation code?"

Justin responded, "Azure, Beta, Alpha, Six, Zeta."

A different voice responded, "Calling to gloat? You have my phone number."

Justin smirked, knowing that William had likely gotten a call from Tommy after Adam shared his news, "Not at all Admiral. Actually, I'm en route with Ninja Red to have him talk to you about Recovery."

There was a pause, and then. "ETA?"

"We're seven minutes out, airborne."

"Land in the secure hangar. We'll see you in seven."

"Acknowledged." The connection cut off and Justin turned to Shane, "You may want to switch to your ninja uniform with the hood."

Shane seemed to consider for a moment and then asked, "These people are accustomed to Rangers?" Justin nodded. "And you trust them to be able to keep secrets?"

"Yes."

"Then, if you trust them, so do I."


End file.
